Tent City, U.S.A.

Breathtaking - this film is riveting from start to finish, gloriously filmed and exquisitely edited.

This is why I take every second of reality TV with a pound of salt. Stacy says her ex-husband was controlling, she means he had a problem with her sleeping around and doing drugs with her daughter. When she says she "left in the middle of the night without her stuff or vehicles" she means they were divorced at the time she took off for Tennessee without giving any warning and leaving her two sons without a mother (except for me). I married her ex-husband and he's the most patient, kind, non-controlling person I know. I have even struggled with alcohol during our near-15 year relationship and he hasn't left me.

"Tent City, U.S.A." is problematic film. After all, homelessness is not a subject that most folks want to hear about and I cannot see the average person watching this documentary in the first place. I am not the typical person, as I love documentaries and used to be a social worker who worked with homeless folks, among others. I am certainly no expert on the subject and don't claim to be. However, any clarity I hoped to find in this film was sorely lacking. You learn that there are a lot of folks in Nashville who live in makeshift tents in the woods but not a lot more. How they got there and how to get them on their feet and self-sufficient isn't really addressed other than saying that the government owes them a place to live. Well, it's not always that simple. Why are there homeless STILL in many socialist countries (I was surprised how bad the problem is in many European countries despite the high taxes and government social spending)? Are all homeless the same (they certainly aren't) and what can we do to help? Why don't we see folks in the film seeking jobs or working on GEDs? I just felt that the film could have had a real platform to make suggestions but instead if just seemed a bit short on facts and opinions other than we need to get folks places to live. Mildly interesting but a bit frustrating in its simplicity.